When we last left our heroes, we were talking about how to engage audiences. And we offered a couple of ideas about how to do that:
· Mention audience members by name
· Ask questions
Today we get to a few more tactics that may require a little more effort but also offer the promise of even greater dividends in terms of audience engagement.
Connect around common experience. When you talk about something that you share with your audience you introduce a level of empathy that connects you and your message with that audience. Consider the difference between these two approaches that express the same idea:
“Meeting with new, potential customers can be difficult. There is a need to prepare. There is a need to really listen to what they are saying. And to build credibility, you need to talk knowledgeably about the customer and their problems. Today, I am going to show you how to do each of these things.”
- or -
“I remember sitting where you are right now, thinking about how to make the best impressions on customers. For me, preparation took time. I had to train myself to really listen. And most frightening for me, I had to find ways to bring ideas into the conversation that really added value and demonstrated my knowledge of the customer’s business. Today, we are going to talk about each of these.”
Reference current events. Talking about things that happened today can make the topic you are discussing more relevant and fresh. Consider these two ideas:
“Even in volatile times, there are customers that need our solutions.”
- or -
“This morning the Dow was up/down 150 points in early trading. This is one expression of the volatile business times in which live. Here is the point. Today and every day, regardless of business volatility, there are customers that need our solutions.”
Localize to venue. When you are talking to a group as a visitor, take time to talk to them about themselves – even if this is not your main topic. When you talk about them, it makes you seem appreciative, aware and gracious. Consider these two options at expressing the same idea:
“I am so glad to be here. We have so much to discuss regarding the future and where we are going together.”
- or -
“I am so glad to be here. This team has fantastic examples of the type of achievements we need to drive everywhere in our business. When it comes to innovation, no team has done more than this group right here – defining new solutions, creating new go-to market strategies and aligning our business with the things our customers really want and need. Your contributions are truly appreciated. Today these things are the focus of our conversation – what our future looks like and ways we can get there together”
So these are some ideas on how to engage with your audience. To engage with us, all you need to do is comment. We’re all ears.
Currently managing the content strategy and delivery for a major technology conference with around 500 presentations in many formats – executive keynotes, breakouts, round-tables, panels, interactives and over 700 speakers from many industries, customer segments and geographies.
One of the top principles I apply to our overall content delivery strategy is “to keep it real”.
Nowadays, audiences can learn the facts of your content in seconds through the use of search engines and are used to real-time feedback mechanisms, such as social networks.
Speakers forget about this reality and often deliver theoretical messages that bore, annoy and confuse audiences. People do not want to be told what you think things ought to be, but what things really are.
The era of politically correct rhetoric is dead. What speakers need to do in order to engage their audiences is to convey a truthful and down-to-earth message that talks to them in their own language, so they feel invited, entertained and oriented.
So next time you design and/or deliver a presentation, remember “to keep it real”.
Great point. Couldn’t agree more.